Page 136 - The 5 Second Rule: Transform Your Life, Work, and Confidence with Everyday Courage

fellow anchor and a breast cancer survivor, for advice. After Amy told Robin that
she had never had a mammogram, Robin replied:

“Amy, that’s the whole point. Listen. Nobody knows better than I do how uncomfortable it can be having people watching
you go through something medical. But the power of saving even one life is so remarkable, you’ll never regret it. And I can
pretty much guarantee it will save a life. Just by you walking into that mammogram and demystifying this test, someone
will find out they have cancer who wouldn’t have otherwise. Amy, 80% of women who have breast cancer have no family
history.”

Amy made up her mind right there, in Robin’s dressing room, and decided to
have the mammogram. She went back on air weeks later to reveal that the screening
she had done on live television had saved her life—she had been diagnosed with
breast cancer. Amy went through a double mastectomy, eight rounds of
chemotherapy, and today is cancer-free.

While Amy didn’t use the #5SecondRule in her decision, she got a push from
Robin during a critical moment and made a five second decision. Thank goodness
she did. You may not be lucky enough to have a work colleague there to push you,
but you can always give yourself that push, 5- 4- 3- 2- 1-GO.

Improving your health is all about action. You might not lose as much weight as
Charlie, or run marathons like Greg, but you can push yourself to get to the dentist,
to exercise, or go to the doctor for a test like a mammogram or prostate screening.
When you push yourself just like so many of the people you’ve just read about, the
life that you change will be your own.

Life is about the choices we make. And I have said over and over in this book
that you can always choose how you act. If you have goals to get healthier, what
you need to do is usually straightforward. Pick a plan to follow, any plan will do—
and then 5- 4- 3- 2- 1-GO. The only thing you will need to choose after that is
choosing each and every day to DO IT even though, as Anouk said, you “really
really really don’t feel like it.”